WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. >> President Donald Trump is circumspect about his duties to uphold due process rights laid out in the Constitution, saying in a new interview that he does not know whether U.S. citizens and noncitizens alike deserve that guarantee.

The comments in a wide-ranging interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” came as the Republican president’s efforts to quickly enact his agenda face sharper headwinds with Americans just as his second administration crossed the 100-day mark, according to a recent poll by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Trump, however, made clear that he is not backing away from a to-do list that he insists the American electorate broadly supported when they elected him.

Here are some of the highlights from the interview with NBC’s Kristen Welker that was taped Friday at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida and aired Sunday.Fifth Amendment rights

Critics on the left have tried to make the case that Trump is chipping away at due process in the United States. Most notably, they cite the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man who was living in Maryland when he was mistakenly deported to El Salvador and imprisoned without communication.

Asked in the interview whether U.S. citizens and noncitizens both deserve due process as laid out in the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution, Trump was noncommittal.

“I don’t know. I’m not, I’m not a lawyer. I don’t know,” Trump said when pressed by Welker.

Welker reminded the president that the Fifth Amendment says as much.

“I don’t know,” Trump said again. “It seems — it might say that, but if you’re talking about that, then we’d have to have a million or 2 million or 3 million trials.” Left unmentioned was how anyone could be sure these people were immigrants without legal permission, let alone criminals, without hearings.

Trump responded “I don’t know” one more time and referred to his “brilliant lawyers” when Welker asked whether, as president, he needed to “uphold the Constitution of the United States.”

The Fifth Amendment provides “due process of law,” meaning a person has certain rights when it comes to being prosecuted for a crime. Also, the 14th Amendment says no state can “deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

Trump said he was pushing to deport “some of the worst, most dangerous people on Earth,” but that courts are getting in his way.

“I was elected to get them the hell out of here, and the courts are holding me from doing it,” Trump said.

Military action against Canada

The president has repeatedly threatened that he intends to make Canada the “51st state.”

Before his White House meeting on Tuesday with newly elected Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Trump is not backing away from the rhetoric that has angered Canadians.

Trump, however, told NBC that it was “highly unlikely” that the U.S. would need to use military force to make Canada the 51st state.

He offered less certainty about whether his repeated calls for the U.S. to take over Greenland from NATO-ally Denmark can be achieved without military action.

Recession forecasts

Trump said the U.S. economy is in a “transition period” but he expects it to do “fantastically” despite the economic turmoil sparked by his tariffs.

He offered sharp pushback when Welker noted that some Wall Street analysts now say the chances of a recession are increasing.

“Well, you know, you say, some people on Wall Street say,” Trump said. “Well, I tell you something else. Some people on Wall Street say that we’re going to have the greatest economy in history.”

He also deflected blame for the 0.3% decline in the U.S. economy in the first quarter.

“I think the good parts are the Trump economy and the bad parts are the Biden economy because he’s done a terrible job,” referring to his Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden.

Trump was asked about his repeated statements about considering an unconstitutional third term in office. In the interview, he went further than he had previously in saying he did not intend to run again, despite the fact that the Trump Organization’s online store is selling Trump 2028 hats.

“There are many people selling the 2028 hat,” the president said, “but this is not something I’m looking to do.”

Cabinet, salary

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has been under fire for his participation in Signal text chains in which sensitive information about military planning was shared. But Trump said he is not looking to replace his Pentagon chief.

“No. Not even a little bit. No. Pete’s going to be great,” Trump said. Hegseth’s job is “totally safe.”

Trump denied he is profiting from the presidency, even as he continues to promote a series of business ventures, including cryptocurrency holdings.

Before taking office, Trump launched his own meme coin. He also helped launch World Liberty Financial, another cryptocurrency venture.

That’s in addition to a long list of other business ventures, from Trump Media & Technology Group, which runs his Truth Social site, to branded sneakers, watches and colognes and perfumes.

“Being president probably cost me money if you really look,” Trump said. “I contribute my entire salary to the government, back to the government. And I’m doing it again.”

Alcatraz prison

Later Sunday, Trump said on his Truth Social site that he is directing his government to reopen and expand Alcatraz, the notorious former prison on a hard-to-reach California island that has been closed for more than 60 years.

The prison — infamously inescapable due to the strong ocean currents and cold Pacific waters that surround it — was known as the “The Rock” and housed some of the nation’s most notorious criminals, including gangster Al Capone and George “Machine Gun” Kelly.

The closure of the federal prison in 1963 was attributed to crumbling infrastructure and the high costs of repairing and supplying the island facility, because everything from fuel to food had to be brought by boat.

This story includes information from the New York Times.